Portraits of Petaluma Pioneers Bibliography

History of Early Portrait Photography

Barber, James G., editor, Faces of Discord: The Civil War Era at the National Portrait Gallery, Collins, 2006. (A beautifully illustrated collection of civil war portraits each accompanied by a comprehensive analysis of both the photograph and the sitter)

Darrah, William C., Carte de Visite in Nineteenth Century Photography, W. C. Darrah, Publisher, 1981. (A thorough history of the carte de visite, includes an extensive subject guide, index and bibliography)

Gross, Alex, Now and Then, The Cabinet Card Paintings of Alex Gross, Ginko Press, 2012. (A delightful interpretation of 19th century cabinet cards by a 21st century painter)

History of Early California Photographers

Mautz, Carl, Biographies of Western Photographers, A Reference Guide to Photographers Working in the 19th Century American West, Carl Mautz Publishing, 1997. (A highly useful reference book, with an extensive chapter on California photographers)

Palmquist, Peter E., and Thomas R. Kailbourn, Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865, Stanford University Press, 2000. (The definitive reference book on this subject)

History of Sonoma County

Cassiday, Samuel, Pen Pictures From the Garden of the World, An Illustrated History of Sonoma County, The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, 1889. (Samuel Cassiday was a Petaluman and one of the early editors of the Petaluma Argus.)

Finley, Ernest Latimer, History of Sonoma County, California, Its People and Its Resources, The Press Democrat Publishing Co., Santa Rosa, 1937.

Gregory, Thomas Jefferson, History of Sonoma County, California, With Biographical Sketches of Leading Men and Women, Historical Record Company, Los Angeles, 1911.

Silliman, Stephan W., Lost Laborers in Colonial California: Native Americans and the Archaeology of Rancho Petaluma, Tucson, University of Arizona Press, 1971. (A significant analysis of the role played by Native Americans in the creation and running of the Petaluma Adobe)

** The many articles dedicated to early Petaluma history published in the various Petaluma newspapers and magazines by the community’s beloved and well respected local historians, including Bill Hammerman, Hoppy Hopkins, Harlan Osborne, Ed Fratini, Ed Mannion, Bill Soberanes and Skip Sommer.

Lansdell, Avril, History in Camera: Fashion À La Carte, 1860-1900, A Study of Fashion Through Cartes-de-Viste, Shire Publications, 1985. (A brief discussion of fashion as seen in cartes de visite with a focus on English images)

Severa, Joan L., Dressed for the Photographer, Ordinary Americans & Fashion, 1840-1900, Kent State University Press, 1995. (A thorough discussion of the dress of middle class Americans as depicted in their portraits)

Severa, Joan L., My Likeness Taken, Daguerreian Portraits in America, Kent State University Press, 2005. (A beautifully illustrated collection of daguerreotypes each accompanied by a detailed description by the author, the curator of costume at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin)

Taylor, Maureen A., Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats, 1840-1900, Picture Perfect Press, 2011. (Many illustrations of 19th century portraits in which the sitter is wearing a hat; the images are categorized by decade and accompanied by brief, concise descriptions)

Conservation, Restoration & Preservation of Vintage Photographs

Lamb, Allan R., Framing Photograph, volume 6, The Library of Professional Picture Framing, Columba Publishing Co., 1996. A professional and thorough explanation of the subject with extensive information on the special requirements of 19th century photographs.